


The Great Candle Heist of 2019

by randomrambler



Series: Flufftober 2019 [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Clary is a great friend, Clizzy strong, F/M, Flufftober, Flufftober 2019, Maia is a secret dork, Malec in the background, Simon is such a dork, saia, they're just so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 02:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20987654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomrambler/pseuds/randomrambler
Summary: It was as if he'd walked into a realm from one of his favourite fantasy novels that was also inside a chocolate factory. It had mystical displays with vines and candle stands hanging from the walls and ceilings and he found it all very soothing and near perfect. Then she walked passed him and he was completely lost.OR the one where Simon keeps buying candles he doesn't need because he can't figure out how to ask Maia out.





	The Great Candle Heist of 2019

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 - CANDLES
> 
> Saia. I love Saia.

Simon wasn't exactly stalking this woman. Sure, he didn't know her name, or any more about her than the fact that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and she worked in a candle store, and that she had the most delightful laugh he'd ever heard, but that didn't stop him from wandering into the store every other day like a stalker. It had started as an accident. He was supposed to meet his best friend Clary at a rare comic book store, but he'd gotten turned around and somehow found himself in front of _Delirium_, a luxury candle store and once he stepped inside, it was like walking into another world. The shop was a lot larger than he expected, and smelled like all the best things about home and wrapped him in a bubble of wonder. It was as if he'd walked into a realm from one of his favourite fantasy novels that was also inside a chocolate factory. It had mystical displays with vines and candle stands hanging from the walls and ceilings and he found it all very soothing and near perfect. Then _she_ walked passed him and he was completely lost. She had gorgeous caramel skin that shimmered under the unique lighting of the store and dark brown curly hair that formed an otherworldly halo around her and when she smiled and asked him if he was looking for something in particular, Simon couldn't help buying a rather expensive candle that he didn't think he would ever use.

After that, Simon seemed to always find himself in the candle shop. This meant that he was buying a lot more candles than he knew what to do with because he thought it would be rude to just show up in the shop and not buy anything. Clary had started to notice his constant daydreaming when they were together and he was too embarrassed to tell her that he had a crush on someone who was probably too good for him anyway, much less that he'd never said more than '_hello_' and '_thank you_' to the woman of his dreams. He didn't even know her name and he knew Clary would not let him hear the end of that once she found out. Unfortunately for him, Clary was as stubborn as they came and with the backing of her girlfriend Izzy, she hounded Simon until he finally broke down and told her his predicament one day while they were all out for coffee. 

"Oh my god, Si!" Clary exclaimed with a laugh, "don't tell me you've just been creeping on this poor woman like some psycho! I raised you better than this."

"Not creeping. I'm not a creep. I was just, like, waiting for an opening, you know?" Simon said defensively.

"You're not going to find a better opening than this, Simon." Izzy chimed in, "and you really should've asked her out by now."

Simon had gone completely red-faced because he knew on some level that they were right, but that didn't make it any easier for him to approach a goddess when he was a mere peasant. 

"It’s just…" He said finally, jostling his glasses on his face, something he always did when he was uncomfortable or nervous, "I know I'm just a sad nerd with very little to offer and she can do way better than me. She's probably seeing someone anyway so it wouldn't have mattered."

"Si, you're amazing," Clary replied, "any woman would be lucky to call you her better half. Hell, if it wasn't for this queen here, and the fact that we practically grew up together, I would be dating you. You're sweet and kind, and you have a killer sense of humour-"

"And you're not bad looking!" Izzy broke in.

"Yeah!" Clary agreed, "You're a catch and a half, trust me. Now whether this woman is seeing someone else or not, that's not our business right now. But you have to at least try or you'll regret it. Plus she must've noticed you by now and I just hope she hasn't reported you to security as some kind of stalker." she finished with faux apprehension.

Simon didn't know what to say to that, but he appreciated their love and support so he just smiled sheepishly and resolved to make a move the next time he went to the shop because he was running out of cash and space for luxury candles.

As it happened, it took Simon almost a whole week to actually make the move once he'd decided to do so. When he could no longer make excuses for procrastinating, he went to Delirium with purpose and a slight spring in his step. He'd lit one of the specialty candles the night before and when he woke up this morning his house still smelled of eucalyptus and sage, which he found very calming. Today was the day he was going to ask the woman in the shop her name and if she would like to go out with him, for better or worse. When he got to the shop there was one other customer in the far corner but no sign of his mystery woman. Trying hard not to seem like he was actively searching for her, he wandered around, craning his neck as he tried to spot her dark curls.

"Hi!", an enthusiastic voice said from behind him.

Simon spun around so quickly that he almost toppled over an elaborate candle display next to him. He struggled to keep the display cards and the candles from falling over while registering that the woman he'd been trying to find was the one who'd just spoken to him.

"I'm sorry," Simon said as he replaced the items on the display, "so sorry."

"I've been wondering if you'd come back," she said with a smile.

"Come back…?" Simon asked, dazed. Did that mean she'd actually noticed him this whole time?

"Yeah, no. It's not like I was keeping track or anything," she replied, a little less confident for reasons Simon could not discern, "I just missed- not missed… I mean, it's been a while and you were kind of regular even if I know nobody needs that many candles. But not that I think you're weird or anything for buying that many. I don’t think you're weird, I just…" she trailed off now looking around like she was hoping for an act of god to end this conversation.

"I…" Simon said uselessly as his brain tried and failed to come up with words.

"Let me start again," she said taking a deep breath, "welcome back to Delirium. I'm Maia." she continued, giving Simon a small wave.

"Simon. Me. I'm Simon. My name is Simon," Simon said finally.

Maia laughed and the tension that had been building unbeknownst to Simon broke across his shoulder blades and he laughed too.

"I must seem like a maniac, right?" Simon said

"Well, I basically admitted that I'd been tracking your comings and goings so I may be the maniac here," Maia replied

"Not at all!" Simon said quickly, "I mean, I would track some dude who was always in my shop too! He could be some kind of candle fetishist casing the joint for a big candle heist."

"Ha!" Maia laughed, "That would be the most interesting thing to happen in this place in the 2 years I've been working here and I wouldn't even be mad at it."

"Well now I feel bad that I'm not a candle thief after all," Simon said laughing too.

"I'm not," Maia said, "that would mean I'd have to call the cops on you and I'd rather not do that."

"No cops. Good point." Simon agreed.

"So," Maia said, "if you're not a candle fetishist planning a heist, what are you doing with all those candles you keep buying anyway?"

Simon didn't know how to say he bought the candles because he couldn't _not_ buy them when he wanted to see her again, so instead, he said, "How about I buy you a coffee and tell you all about how my life got twisted upside down with these candles?"

"Fresh Prince," Maia said with a raised eyebrow, "well now you have my undivided attention. I can take a short coffee break now and there's a perfect place next door."

She told someone working in the back office that she was going out and as they walked to the coffee shop Simon had a bright smile on his face as though he couldn't believe his luck.

** _SIX MONTHS LATER_ **

"Happy birthday, Clary!" Simon said enthusiastically, handing Clary a gift. He turned to give a conspiratorial smile to Maia who was standing by his side and squeezed her hand.

"I swear to god, Simon," Clary started, "if this is another candle I will smother you."

"Um…" Simon said with a smile, "you're welcome?"

"Just how many of these did you buy, Lewis?" Alec, Izzy's brother asked. He was attending Clary's birthday dinner with his on-again, off-again boyfriend and he glared at Simon now as if the gift had been for him and not his sister's girlfriend. "You gave Magnus one for his birthday, you gave Iz and Clary a couple when they moved in together, and you're _still_ handing them out?"

"Hey, leave my man alone," Maia said, coming to his defence. "Those are top quality luxury candles you heathens. Appreciate them and thank this man for blessing you with that goodness."

Simon smiled giddily, still not used to the fact that he was actually dating the woman of his dreams and leaned over to drop a light kiss on her lips.

"Thanks, babe," he said to her, and to the rest of their friends, "not gonna lie, these are gonna be your go-to gifts for the next year or two probably."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave comments AND kudos if you had fun! 
> 
> Find me on twitter @ zeejade88


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